Chinese Leaders Mourn Over Demise of Nepalese King, Queen

Chinese President Jiang Zemin on Sunday expressed his profound regret and grief at the unfortunate demise of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya of Nepal.

Jiang said in a statement that he was deeply shocked at the tragic incident, which occurred in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, in the evening of June 1, and extended to the Nepalese people his deep condolences.

"His death is an immense loss to the Nepalese people and he will forever live on in the hearts of his people," he said.

"King Birendra made outstanding contributions to the China-Nepal good-neighborly friendship, which will last from generation to generation, and the Chinese people will remember him forever," said the Chinese president.

Also on Sunday, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji sent a message of condolences to his Nepalese counterpart, Girija Prasad Koirala, to express his "profound condolences and deep sympathy" over the demise of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya.

"On behalf of the Chinese Government, I would like to extend profound condolences and deep sympathy to you and to the Royal Government and people of Nepal," he said.



KING BIRENDRA BIR BIKRAM SAHADEV
King Birendra Bir Bikram Sahadev was born on December 28, 1945 whose parents are Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah and Indra Rajya Laxmi Devi, and, wife, Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah. Birendra acquired his early education at St. Joshep's School and higher education at Eton College, University of Tokyo and Harvard University. On March 15, 1955, Birendra was declared as the crown prince. In 1970, he was declared as the Heir-Apparent to the throne of Kingdom of Nepal. Generally seen as a benevolent monarch, King Birendra ruled absolutely for 18 years before the people's movement of 1990 convinced him to lift the ban on political parties and hand over sovereignty to the people.





People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/